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Alternate Perceptions Magazine, July 2017

Valerie Schultz
A good friend of the late John A. Keel
On UFOs, John Keel, and MUFON

by: Brent Raynes

Valerie Schultz: My husband and I had gone to a UFO Seminar at a high school in the village and John Keel was a guest speaker. John Keel had said he had decided to create a new Fortean Society and it was around the 40th anniversary of Kenneth Arnold’s UFO sighting in 1947. We became Charter Members on September 19th, 1987. The monthly meetings were held in Manhattan at 7 East 30th Street. Some of his guests were Whitley Strieber, Antonio Huneeus, Zacharia Sitchin and Timothy Beckley. The meetings were always excellent and very informative! We even won a raffle where we took home a print by Norris Hall. It was a caricature of Carl Sagan on the telephone looking out at the night sky. The caption said: “We’ve been over this billions and billions of times: There is not one shred of evidence of UFO’s.” Meanwhile behind him and out another window we see a cow being captured and beamed up to a flying saucer. A helicopter with the letters USA written on it is pursuing several other flying saucers and grey entities are laughing. It’s a great print! After the meetings we used to join Mr. Keel at a local deli to continue the discussions. Those were really fun days!

Brent Raynes: Definitely sounds like it was indeed fun times. So you lived in New York City at the time? Were you and your husband interested in the UFO subject prior to this?

Valerie Schultz: Yes, we lived in New York City at the time. In fact, I was born in New York City and lived there until the 1990’s. Both my husband and I have always been interested in all Fortean subjects; all things paranormal or out of the ordinary. As far as the UFO subject, my interest goes all the way back to reading Frank Edwards’ books such as “Flying Saucers - Serious Business” along with Erich von Daniken’s “Chariots of the Gods? Mysteries of the Past.”

Brent Raynes: Did you get to personally talk with John Keel very much? Any pictures? What kinds of information did you take away from your interactions with him and others that you met who had gathered at these meetings, and at the deli, that had perhaps the greatest impact on you?

Valerie Schultz: At those wonderful Fortean Society meetings we always found John Keel to be very approachable and easy to talk with. We felt he was very receptive to questions and comments and was a very nice and kind man. We were part of group discussions with John Keel and didn’t know him personally outside of the meetings or deli visits. I remember the meeting room was very small and was always packed – probably around 30 – 40 people attended the meetings. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos. Looking back, I certainly wish I had taken some at the time. They would be wonderful to look at now all these years later! However, we still have our original membership cards! My card reads: Member
The New York Fortean Society
P.O. Box 20024
NYC, NY 10025
Member No.( David is member A and Valerie is B)
As Qualified member of the scholastic community and being in good standing in this society Valerie Schultz is authorized to investigate anomalistic events, collect samples, and interview witnesses
Expiration Date: June ‘94
President: John A. Keel

Mr. Keel had a great sense of humor at the meetings and he was always cracking jokes. He signed my copy of “Disneyland of the Gods” this way – “For Valerie – Fortean extraordinary and discriminating book buyer. All the best.” He signed his book “Strange Creatures from Time and Space” for my husband. He said: “For David- friend, scholar, gentleman Best regards.”

We loved listening to John Keel discuss his world travels and investigations. I was fascinated by John Keel’s theory that UFO’s, psychic and Fortean phenomena are related! He used the word “Ultraterrestrials” to describe what we would now say are entities or extraterrestrials and felt that they have been interacting with us on this planet for a long time and keeping watch on us. However, he didn’t feel they came from other planets but were more related to the earth itself and to mankind.

Brent Raynes: Today you live in Maine, where I was born and raised. You're the Maine state director for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) there. How much influence was Keel and the Fortean Society in this development?

Valerie Schultz: Being a member of John Keel’s Fortean Society in New York City opened my eyes to all things unusual! It taught me to have an open mind and think outside of the box. Listening to Whitley Streiber discuss his unearthly and very scary encounters and Antonio Huneeus and Tim Beckley discuss UFO sightings and investigations inspired me to learn more. In later years, I discovered and followed Stanton Friedman and studied his works. That led me on a direct path to MUFON.

As a MUFON Investigator and State Director of Maine and New Hampshire, it has been an honor to be a part of the world’s largest organization dedicated to researching and investigating UFO sightings. MUFON began in 1969 and continues to be a non-profit organization comprised of volunteers who collectively are searching for the truth on the UFO phenomenon. Our mission is “the scientific study of UFO’s for the benefit of humanity.”

Brent Raynes: Investigate any interesting cases you'd care to share?

Valerie Schultz: Maine and New Hampshire MUFON receive a steady stream of sighting reports every month with many anomalous craft being observed. On October 31, 2017 a football sized triangular craft was seen moving silently in slow motion East to West over Sawyer Lake in Gilmanton, N.H. According to testimony in MUFON Case # 87753, the craft had a red light on each corner and a purple/ white light underneath. It seemed to be smoky or foggy. The witness reported that “it gave the effect of an escalator running along the bottom middle minus the steps.” In October of 2015, a witness observed a black disc shaped craft 60-65’ in diameter travelling silently from West to East over Milan, N.H. According to MUFON Case # 92057 there were 5 slits on the bottom of the craft that revealed an electric type blue glow making the witness feel there was a high amount of voltage and a lot of energy within. The craft moved at 30 mph making the witness question how it could move so slowly and not fall from the sky! That is a question I have heard so many times from witnesses! These slow moving craft are always at very low altitudes.

In MUFON Case #90967 a witness reported a silent, hovering, triangular craft with red lights on each corner and a pink middle light over Raymond, Maine in February 2015. After hovering about four minutes, the craft then followed the car she was in paralleling her motion at treetop level. The witness has theorized that her area of western Maine has many sightings because it is rich in natural resources such as uranium, quartz and tourmaline which could be used for technology, along with the fresh water reserves in her location.

A very compelling case was recently reported about an event that took place at Dow Air Force Base in Bangor, Maine during 1963 or 1964. In MUFON Case # 76253 an airman was stationed as a K-9 Sentry guarding B-52 bombers loaded with nuclear weapons. At 11 P.M. the guard dog broke position and pulled the airman towards the Dow Air Force Base runway. It was at this point that the witness observed three pulsating spheres of light slowly coming down the runway from the opposite end. When the orbs reached the middle of the runway, they paused and the whole base lit up brighter than daylight! As the witness reached for his radio to report the orbs, there was a great deal of static on it. When he looked up from his radio, “the three orbs, which were each about 30’ in diameter, shot up at a 90 degree angle, turned many colors and were gone in seconds.” The three orbs were reddish-orange and appeared transparent. The colors reminded the witness of volcanic lava as it moved on the outside of the spheres. The witness thought there was a cloaking device being used. The orbs had been tracked on radar and two F-101’s attempted to follow the orbs to no avail.

According to MUFON Cases # 80969 and #80908 a huge silent craft was observed over southern Maine on December 10, 2016. Witnesses were 63 miles apart and all three of the witnesses became ill with nausea upon observing it! The first witness in E. Baldwin (#80969) observed a craft that was football stadium-sized along with two triangular escorts. They approached him from the West and travelled Northeast at 4:30 A.M. The second case, (# 80908), occurred in Windsor, Maine, 63 miles Northeast, at 4:44 A.M. – 14 minutes later. These witnesses observed a triangular shaped object similar to a carpenter’s framing square travelling Northeast. They described it as “floating with no resistance like a boat going through water.” All 3 witnesses were concerned about the health effects they felt while observing this low flying unidentified craft.

Brent Raynes: Have you reached any significant personal conclusions or have any favored pet theories of your own about the UFO phenomenon?

Valerie Schultz: I believe what I’ve heard Stanton Friedman say: that aliens are visiting Earth and that some parts of the government know and are covering it up. It seems obvious to me that if there are 200 billion stars, there must be tons of planets containing life! I believe there is all kinds of life out there. I also feel that there are entities that can possibly manipulate time and space. Perhaps they could be from other dimensions coming to Earth through portals in different locations on this planet. I also believe, like John Keel, like Erich von Daniken, that whoever they are, they have been coming here for a long time; perhaps since ancient times.

Brent Raynes: Of course, I have to ask this. Have you had any personal UFO or anomalous experiences of your own that have left you scratching your own head?

Valerie Schultz: No, I can’t say that I have had any anomalous experiences but investigating these unusual cases has been very enlightening, informative and extremely intriguing!

Brent Raynes: Are there any books you'd recommend to new comers to this field?

Valerie Schultz: I would recommend all books by John Keel and Stanton Friedman. Also to learn about Abduction Research, I recommend “The Alien Abduction Files” co-written by Kathleen Marden and Denise Stoner. Kathleen Marden is the niece of Betty and Barney Hill. Both Kathleen and Denise are part of MUFON’s Abduction Research Team.

Brent Raynes: Have any advice for the new comers?

Valerie Schultz: My advice to new MUFON Field Investigators is to look at each case with an open mind while trying to figure out what the witness observed. They should be familiar with various types of natural phenomena such as fireballs, meteors, planets, bright stars, Northern Lights and weather phenomena. Investigators should know what the International Space Station (ISS) looks like as it passes overhead and observe it as much as possible so they will be aware of a possible misinterpretation of the ISS reported as a UFO by a witness. This has occurred many times. Investigators should ask witnesses questions about the sighting so as much information as possible can be obtained. This in turn will help with our research and perhaps we some day will get to know the truth about UFO’s.

Brent Raynes: Is there anything you'd like to see change about the UFO field?

Valerie Schultz: I would love to see UFO sightings reported with respect and not ridicule. The situation has improved over the years but there is still a great deal of improvement needed. MUFON receives so many sightings that took place 30, 40, even 50 years ago. Those witnesses have told me they wouldn’t have reported their sightings back when they occurred because they didn’t want to risk the embarrassment and consequences of the ridicule. MUFON is greatly helping the situation. Our investigators treat each case with respect. Each submitted case is entered into our Case Management System with a Case Number so there is a record of the event. That enables research, comparisons and trends to be discovered!

Thank you for this interview! It was great to reminisce about those wonderful Fortean Society Meetings with John Keel! He definitely had a big influence on my thinking and led me on a path to learn more about anomalous phenomena. Those Fortean Meetings really did prepare me for my work with MUFON!

Brent Raynes: Well Valerie, thank you so very much for sharing your memories and information. It has been very interesting talking with you and it has been very much appreciated.